Cold Steel, I need some tips on sharpening my machete.

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flash6605

Joined
Jul 3, 2013
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Hello-OK so I recently got my Cold steel Kukri Machete. Sadly, it was subpar. The blade was missing paint, and the tip was blunt and irregular, and the edge was coarse and misaligned. (When I ran my fingers down one side of the blade, I could feel a "V" shaped ridge. There were also grease or oil stains on my machete. However, I don't want to return it. I want to fix it and make it a good chopper. Can you provide tips and info on how to sharpen it? All I have is a metal rod for sharpening knives, a Smith's pocket pal multifunction sharpener, and some sandpaper.
 
I just fixed the edge on my gladius machete last night. First I bought a file and filed down all the jagged edges. Then I used my Lansky tool sharpener (the one shaped like an oval) and sharpened it pretty well by hand. The edge isn't perfect but it is a machete so it doesn't need to be. I also wiped the whole thing down and covered it in Frog Lube when I was done.
 
flash6605 said:
Alright! Thanks! I'll try to get these items at the hardware store tomorrow.
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Lansky stone is called "The Puck". It's great on large long edges like machetes and axes:

LPUCK.jpg


- OS
 
I don't have a tip on sharpening that particular machete.

But I do have this tip: Condor machetes.
 
agile_1 said:
I don't have a tip on sharpening that particular machete.

But I do have this tip: Condor machetes.
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Man, I love Condor. I have their Golok, Parang, Tapanga, Village Parang, Engineer Bolo, Boomslang, Dundee Bowie, Swamp Master, Outback Bolo, Kukri Machete, Thai Enep, Hudson Bay, and Bush Knife. I also have 4 Imacasa machetes(Condor is Imacasa's premium line), and one Marbles machete that was made by Imacasa. When I get paid tomorrow, I'm ordering their new Speed Machete, Matagi Knife, and maybe the Discord Machete and Bushcraft Parang as well. So don't get me wrong, I love Condor/Imacasa, they're great...but I still like Cold Steel too. I just recently got their new Barong and All Terrain Chopper and I'm happy with them. So while yeah, Condor makes a sweet machete, there's no reason to not do both companies if you like machetes and can swing it money wise. Plus, Condor is awesome, but they're also gonna cost you around twice as much, so if you're on a tighter budget, Cold Steel can even get the edge.

Personally, I love getting new machetes, and while I'll admit, Condor IS my first choice...when a new Cold Steel machete comes out I still take notice.
 
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DShiflet said:
Man, I love Condor. I have their Golok, Parang, Tapanga, Village Parang, Engineer Bolo, Boomslang, Dundee Bowie, Swamp Master, Outback Bolo, Kukri Machete, Thai Enep, Hudson Bay, and Bush Knife. I also have 3 Imacasa machetes(Condor is Imacasa's premium line), and one Marbles machete that was made by Imacasa. When I get paid tomorrow, I'm ordering their new Speed Machete, Matagi Knife, and maybe the Discord Machete and Bushcraft Parang as well. So don't get me wrong, I love Condor/Imacasa, they're great...but I still like Cold Steel too. I just recently got their new Barong and All Terrain Chopper and I'm happy with them. So while yeah, Condor makes a sweet machete, there's no reason to not do both companies if you like machetes and can swing it money wise. Plus, Condor is awesome, but they're also gonna cost you around twice as much, so if you're on a tighter budget, Cold Steel can even get the edge.

Personally, I love getting new machetes, and while I'll admit, Condor IS my first choice...when a new Cold Steel machete comes out I still take notice.
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Dam* - now that's a machete collection!!! How many? How do you store/display them?

I have the Village Parang and a Golok and feel bad because they are not users. I want to do a wall mount display to show them off tho. Any thoughts?

RE: Cold Steel - I do own a Bushman, but again I rarely get to take it out of the box.
 
I have seen all manner of different sharpening techniques used on our Machetes over the years - one of our friends sharpens his machete on the curb!
I have been using a Lansky Puck on mine for some time and it works great
 
You can get a 30 dollar 1x30 belt sander at harbor Freight Tools. A quick pass or two on each side and you are good to go. You can practice by "wiping" the edge along a thin strip of wood until you feel you are comfortable enough to put in on a belt sander. Again, a machete isn't quite a collectible safe queen, it will get mucked up just by using it for what a machete was used for, and there's plenty of metal on the blades to practice with.
 
agile_1 said:
Dam* - now that's a machete collection!!! How many? How do you store/display them?
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Uhh, damn, I don't actually know how many, lol. Aside from that group of Condors/Imacasas(I did order the Matagi and Speed Machete, Bushcraft and Discord will wait, also, I forgot to list their Thunderhead machete as one I own) and the 1 Marbles, I have 5 Cold Steels(jungle, kopis, barong, all terrain chopper, 2h kukri), around half a dozen Aranyiks(and 2 more on the way), a Svord Kiwi machete, plus a super crappy(this is a generous description) $6 Walmart machete. Not to mention the "borderline" machetes, ie, the really large camp knives that could perform machete type duties if needed(Khukuri House kukri, Kershaw Camp 10, Ka-Bar Cutlass Machete and Chop Stick, Cobra Steel Kindjal). I'm a sucker for big knives and machetes, so I usually pick up at least a couple each time I get paid.

Storing is a pain, I have a few on a wall hanger, my kukri is on a display stand(came with the knife), but a lot of them are just stored in a big box.

Also, I just got me a Bushman about a week or so ago myself, heh.
 
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agile_1 said:
I don't have a tip on sharpening that particular machete.
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Then why are you posting to the thread?

But I do have this tip: Condor machetes.
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What sort of person comes into a company forum and then recommends the competition? Not only is that bad form, it smells alot like trolling, imo.
 
SpikeHawk said:
You can get a 30 dollar 1x30 belt sander at harbor Freight Tools. A quick pass or two on each side and you are good to go. You can practice by "wiping" the edge along a thin strip of wood until you feel you are comfortable enough to put in on a belt sander. Again, a machete isn't quite a collectible safe queen, it will get mucked up just by using it for what a machete was used for, and there's plenty of metal on the blades to practice with.
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:thumbup: yes! i use my sanding table all the time for this. its fast enough that one slow pass will make a consistent angle, and you dont have to be overly patient with it and theres less (not no, just less) risk of burning with something like a grinder. the curve of the end spindel make it perfect for kukris
 
If you don't want to "freehand" on a small belt sander, these have a guide and work extremely well. Use one on all my machetes.
 
I use a 1x30 belt sander to reprofile or repair bad machete edges, but for touch ups or sharpening in the field, I use a Smith's handheld diamond stone.
 
mill file hands down. i also use the belt sander, and lansky sharpening puck, sandpaper...i've used it all and still use some of those things, but........ the mill file is the fastest and easiest...plus you can carry it in your pocket while out in the bush, woods, or where i am the swamp...the lansky puck needs oil or water....and while the swamp for water is no problem, oil is a pain in the rear to carry and messy. try it yourself get the puck and the mill file and see which puts a sharper edge faster. you'll leave the puck behind and carry the mill file.

plus cold steel did a nice video on how to sharpen their machetes with a mill file. so they obviously endorse the mill file over all else.:) kidding....but they did do a video on how to use a mill file to sharpen their machetes...i wasn't kidding about that.
 
A mill file and one of the double sided sponge sanding blocks works great for me course and fine is all you need and they weigh nothing easy to carry. Those pucks are good good for finishing and to maintain a edge not so good for taking a lot of steel off.
 
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